#11 ON THE EDGE OF A CLIFF.

I had intended to post this a few months back but din't get around to it till now. I post this now on the eve of my first exam, the lost night of my exam virginity if you will!

So...on my bedroom wall, there are two passages of text that I look to for advice from time to time.
The first is a poem by Rudyard Kipling (not the man who makes cakes) called 'If'.  This poem has diverted me from a lot of bad decisions in the past..
here it is:

IF you can keep your head when all about you 
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

There you have it. My favourite poem.


The next feature on my wall is a speech written by Mary Schmich called Wear Sunscreen. It was an article in her column back in 1997 in the Chicago Tribune. The speech was then converted into a song by Baz Luhrmann.
Once again, it's advice on living life.
If you're like me and prefer to listen to something rather than read it; have a listen to the song: Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen
There are funny parts in places, but the underlying message of living without regret; that's the greatness of it.



I'm currently listening to The Beatles - In My Life


Until we meet again,
SM. x